Sunday, May 22, 2016

LDS Church spokesman Eric Hawkins confirmed that lightning struck the statue but did not the know the extent of the damage.

Photos emailed to KSL from people in the area show part of statue's head missing and a hole in the back. One of them estimated the lightning hit at 2:12 p.m. Sunday."

I always thought growing up as a kid that the statue of Moroni on top of all the temples was a solid gold statue. While still impressive, I can see now that after lightning struck the Bountiful Temple that the iconic statue is actually hollow, most likely made out of fiberglass with a gold shiny veneer finish.

Friday, May 13, 2016

My perspective on this world is that we learn more when we struggle. We are more humble when we have less, and depend more on the Lord when we face challenges, setbacks and failures. There would be no reason to come into this mortal existence if everything went smoothly and we had no need to struggle . . . Things that matter more to me is that I have loving, supportive wife and friends and family that would do anything for our family.

Monday, May 9, 2016

In the Book of Mormon there is a list of Baptismal Questions that Alma asked all those who wanted to be baptized. We read the questions in Mosiah chapter 18.

Are you desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people?

Are you willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light?

Are you willing to mourn with those that mourn?

Are you willing to comfort those that stand in need of comfort?

Are you willing to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal lie?

Now, If this be the desires of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

How beautiful it is to want to bear one another's burdens, to mourn with those who mourn, and to comfort those that stand in need of comfort. I wish some of these same questions from the scriptures were asked today to the baptismal candidate

In comparison, here is the list of LDS Baptismal Questions that we ask today.

Do you believe that God is our Eternal Father?

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world?

Do you believe the Church and gospel of Jesus Christ have been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith?

Do you believe that President Thomas S Monson is a prophet of God? What does this mean to you?

What does it mean to you to repent? Do you feel that you have repented of your past transgressions?

Have you ever committed a serious crime? If so, are you now on probation or parole?

Have you ever participated in an abortion? a homosexual relationship?

Are you willing to obey the law of chastity, which prohibits any sexual relationship outside the bonds of a legal marriage between a man and a woman?

Are you willing to obey the law of tithing.

Are you willing to obey the Word of Wisdom.

Are you willing to obey the Sabbath day, including partaking of the sacrament weekly and rendering service to fellow members.

When you are baptized, you covenant with God that you are willing to take upon yourself the name of Christ and keep His commandments throughout your life.

Are you ready to make this covenant and strive to be faithful to it?

Recently a new question has been added to this list which involves making sure that the one who wants to be baptized does not live with a parent who has lived or currently lives in a same-gender cohabitation relationship or marriage.

We read the list of the Lords baptismal requirements in 3 Nephi 11:32-41. It is a simple list:

Believe in Jesus Christ.

Repent.

Become as a little child.

The Lord further explains that, "whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them."

Yesterday, there was an ad in the front page section of the Denver Post for those who seek to be baptized without institutional requirements or restraints. Here is how the ad appeared in the paper (highlighted below)

Friday, May 6, 2016

I'd like to talk about the big picture. Too
often we get caught in the details of life and we don't see the big picture;
the big picture of why we are here, why our eyes are opened and why we have
such a burning desire to know the truth and serve the Savior.

We live in the end times, the last days.
These are the last days of the end of the world. In reading Nibley's book, Approaching Zion, Nibley says there is
only one thing is left to do, only one thing that needs to happen, and that's
to gather to Zion.

We read on page one in Approaching Zion, speaking about the 10th Article of Faith:

"Article
10 deals explicitly with our time and our space and sets forth the steps by which God intends to consummate the
great latter-day work. What is the consummation of the great
latter-day work? The Return of Christ to usher in the millennium. "

Nibley goes
on to say:

There
are five steps (and this is the order):

(1) the literal
gathering of Israel;

(2) the
restoration of the Ten Tribes (which is happening right now though we have no
knowledge of it here);

(3) the
building of Zion upon this the American continent: (and that will usher in)

(4) Christ's
personal reign upon the earth; and

(5) the renewal
of the earth in its paradisiacal glory.

So let's talk about this gathering. What is
the purpose in gathering? and what was the object of gathering the Jews, or the people of God in any age of the world?

Page 307-8 of The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith says:

The main object was to build unto the Lord a house
whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the
glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there
are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced,
must be done in a place or house built for that purpose.

What are the
ordinances for? Ordinances do two things. They bestow
knowledge and the teach you how to communicate with the heavens. The ordinances
teach you how to open the heavens. What is the purpose of opening the heavens?
To bring down the Lord. The whole purpose of the prayer circle is to summon the
Lord.

You have to have a temple for the Savior and
the Hosts of heaven to return. You have to open a nexus point, a connection between heaven and earth for the Lord to
return. So the whole purpose of gathering is to build a temple, open the
heavens and summon the Lord and start the millennium.

·What would be done differently than was done by those who went
before and failed?

The
post goes on to say how they failed how there were jarrings and contentions. We
all know the story. And then concludes with this:

“It is easy to fail. Just gather people who will contend
with each other and there will be failure EVERY time. It makes sense to
try something new rather than repeat the pattern that will never
work. First, provide an opportunity for those who are interested to display who
they are, whether they can live peaceably with others. Once we know one
another’s hearts then the Lord can gather only those who will avoid
contentions, jealousies, strifes, envyings, and jarring. Like the pattern in
Abraham, first men are “proven” and then they are gathered, or spared.

So let's talk about this gathering. What do
we know about the gathering?

First off, you have to be invited. You just
don't volunteer. You don't just show up. You have to have an invitation.

D&C 77: 9 -11 talks about the angels
gathering the righteous.

"The angels
to whom it is given power over the nations of the earth to bring as many as
will come to the Church of the Firstborn."

And there is our sermon for today...as many as will come.
Well, who wouldn't want to come? To answer that, the Lord gives us the story of
the certain man who made a great supper.

Luke 14: 16-21, 24, 26

A certain man
made a great supper, and bade many:And
sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all
things are now ready. ( So the context is the supper is ready, just come and
come now.) And they all with one consent
began to make excuse.The first said unto
him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray
thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go
to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a
wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shewed his lord
these things.Then the master of the
house being angry said to his servant, none of those men which were bidden
shall taste of my supper.

Why didn't the
people who received the invitation want to attend? Business, family ties, etc.
We look at these people and we think: "How foolish of them not to attend
the party!" and we easily judge them.

But wait a
minute.What if this was not just a
party for an evening, but the Certain Man is asking you to come not for just
for a couple of hours, but come permanently and live with him for good. Drop
everything and come, and come to stay because you're not going back to your
home.Remember the context...everything
is ready, you are invited to come, and you are to come now.

What does that
mean? To you men it means to abandon your job, everything you've worked for and
built up, the people who depend on you, your retirement, your investments,
everything you've worked so hard to make. To you women it means to abandon your
friends. Abandon your family, say goodbye because you're not coming back. Can
you leave your grandchildren? Can you leave your home and all your nice things?
Can you leave all your comforts, your comfortable lifestyle?Can you just walk away?

The invitation
is to leave everything you have and come, and come to stay, you are not going
back.That's the invitation.

Now
how excited are you about the invitation? Now
how excited are you about receiving the angel or receiving the dream that
summons you?

I wrestle with
this terribly. My wife's a non-believer. I would have to abandon her and my
helpless autistic son. Without me and my income...they are in poverty and would
perish. Literally, without my income they are out on the street. I've spent 32
years with this woman. Hard to throw it all away, especially if my leaving
would hurt my helpless, dependent son.

There must be
an easier way, right?Surely the Lord
makes exceptions. No...there is not an easier way. Christ anticipates my very
dilemma in the very next verse when he says:

If any man (or woman) come to me, and hate not his father, and mother,
and spouse, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life
also, he cannot be my disciple.

There is no
easier way.

THE
INVITATION:

So let's talk
about the invitation.

Let's assume you get the invitation. The
angel comes and delivers your invitation. Will you have the option to say at
that point. "Wow...okay...let me talk this over with my spouse and I'll
get back to you." Is that how it works?

No... it's a "go" or "no
go" answer. You don't have the option to say: "Let me think about it
and I'll get back to you." The window of opportunity opens and closes with
the initial offer.

You don't get asked a second time. The Lord
doesn’t beg you to join him. He doesn't sent the servant around the second time
to pick up the indecisive.He offers and
you either take him up on the offer or you don't.

The point is
you have to make up your mind in advance.

Why am I
bringing all this up?

The reason I'm
bringing up this unpleasantness is to say this: The time is growing short. All
too soon this is going to get real. If a true messenger is starting to say
stuff like this, then the time is getting short and this is going to be all too
real very soon, and you will have to make the decision. Better to understand
what you are getting into now, than to say: "Sure, I'll go," and then
when reality hits and you understand the cost to then back out.

So that's the big picture. That's what faces
us. We live in the end times - the last days. These are the last days of the
end of the world. There is only one thing is left to do and that's to gather to
Zion. We are to build the temple, receive the ordinances, open the heavens and
summon the Lord.

To do that, you need your invitation, and if
and when the invitation comes you need to be willing to go.

In the original Greek, John 14:15 says:
"If you love me, stand watch as a sentry awaiting my instructions."
And then when the instructions comes, do it.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

photograph taken on May 1, 2016 of the Pine Valley Chapel in Southern Utah.

A year ago on May 1st, I wrote about MayDay. (Not to be confused with May Day, the holiday of Spring), but Mayday as the emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice communication.

The word, "MayDay" is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners. The call is always given three times in a row ("Mayday Mayday Mayday") to prevent its being mistaken for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions.

On this past Sunday, May 1st which was May Day, my family attended a church meeting in the historic Pine Valley Chapel in Southern Utah. Built in 1868, this building is the oldest meetinghouse in continuous use of the LDS Church. It was designed by a Scottish shipbuilder and LDS convert, Ebenezer Bryce (who Bryce Canyon is named after). The construction of the chapel was built using techniques adopted from shipbuilding, and is basically an upside-down ship.

As the building was finished, Ebenezer Bryce was heard to remark, "If a flood should come, it would float and if a wind came strong enough to blow it over, it still would never crash to pieces."

If only our faith and testimonies were built as strong... so when the floods and wind come.. we would not crash to pieces and have to sound the distress Mayday, Mayday, Mayday call for help.